Mass incarceration rates in the U.S. have led a University of Minnesota law professor to publish a 10-step blueprint to reforming sentencing laws and decreasing the imprisonment population.

The new report shows that the U.S. imprisons seven to 10 times more of its citizens than other developed western-hemisphere countries, with many states putting more money into prisons than higher education.

Michael Tonry, the author of the study, characterized U.S. incarceration rates as "breathtakingly cruel." He said incarceration has severe impacts on prisoners, their families and the communities they come from, and that it’s also costing taxpayers a lot of money.

For the second day in a row, about 2,000 pro-labor activists are rallying inside and outside of the Capitol building in Madison to decry a right-to-work bill that's now being taken up by the state Senate for debate.